Interpreting the style and context of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Harmonia artificioso-ariosa

Abstract

The Harmonia Artificioso-Ariosa is the final published instrumental work of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. This collection was printed in 1696 in private copy and dedicated to Biber’s employer, Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun. It does not appear, according to the historical circumstances surrounding this copy, that the collection was intended for publication, yet a second posthumous copy was produced in 1712, for reasons unknown. The prevalence of organ genres and styles observed in the collection, the influence of prominent organists working in Biber’s circle, and the placement of the work in the last decade of Biber’s career, in which he composed mostly sacred music, suggests that the Harmonia Artificioso-Ariosa was structured for use in both sacred and secular performance settings. However, this music has, until now, only been considered as part of his secular instrumental oeuvre, even though there is much evidence to contradict this belief. This thesis examines the historical, theoretical, and stylistic issues that support the Harmonia’s use in a sacred performance setting.